Ruffled Flurries
by Anthraviolets
Summary: "He was there before Hawkfrost. He was there before Tigerstar. He was there before Thistleclaw. He was there before Mapleshade. [He] missed the peace and quiet of being all alone in the Dark Forest, even if it was when he was at his worst. At least then he wasn't used as the cat who was beaten up just for the sake of it." (Snowtuft AU One-shot, sort of sequel to Upon Hazel Wings)


So I decided to write this one-shot about Good!Snowtuft for someone's contest on BlogClan since I had sudden inspiration and I honestly don't know why. It probably isn't that good since I wrote it in 4-5 hours so take that as you will. And yes I put my headcanon of Snowtuft being in SkyClan and being mates with Hazelwing in here as well, and there's more on why he's in the DF in here to explain.

Also, forgive me if any of the characters seem out of character, I haven't read Omen of the Stars in a _long_ time

**EDIT: I just realized that something had went wrong with the story, as in part of it repeated itself twice. I have fixed it since then, and this should be the most current version since 1/13/20.**

* * *

As Snowtuft sat by himself in the shadows of the Place of No Stars, he narrowed his eyes as the other cats around him prepared to fight against the Clans. He didn't feel inclined to fight anymore. What was the point of fighting the Clans, he had asked himself many times during his stay in the Dark Forest. Revenge was apparently a big one, but after seasons of being stuck in the Dark Forest for a petty reason (in his opinion), Snowtuft couldn't care less about getting his revenge. The cats he hated the most were dead already, and Snowtuft didn't even want to see their faces again in StarClan anyways, so he wasn't really wanting to fight against the Clans anyways.

His gaze wavered over to a few of the other Dark Forest cats, some of who he vaguely recognized, others who didn't know, and some who he knew. Snowtuft caught sight of Sparrowfeather, the small brown tabby she-cat who was clawing at the ground in anticipation. Next to her was Rushtooth, an older she-cat who Snowtuft hardly saw around the Dark Forest as of late. Rushtooth didn't look that different from Sparrowfeather, in Snowtuft's opinion- being a light brown tabby, it wasn't that much of a stretch to say the two could be mistaken for each other. From what it looked like, the two cats were in a conversation. Pricking his ears forwards to hear, Snowtuft leaned forwards, making sure not to make a sound.

"So apparently we're attacking the Clans in a few days," Rushtooth meowed, shrugging her shoulders. Judging from the shrug of her shoulders, she wasn't exactly pleased nor disappointed by the news.

Sparrowfeather growled softly. "I know that. I can't wait to tear my claws into their sorry pelts!" She snapped, flexing her claws. Getting off of her haunches, Sparrowfeather began to pace back and forth, muttering underneath her breath. "Here's to hoping I get the chance to kick some of those sorry WindClan cat's tails."

Snowtuft understood that feeling easily- back when he had been first sent to the Place of No Stars, he'd wanted to get his claws on the pelts of the cats who'd rejected him and his family. Who'd rejected them because of their selfishness. Snowtuft wasn't going to lie, he still wanted to do that. But would it really fix what had happened? He was dead, and nothing had changed that. It wasn't like he knew what had happened afterwards, being stuck in the Dark Forest and all, so he couldn't go on and on about it.

Rushtooth only stared at Sparrowfeather, narrowing her eyes. "You probably won't, seeing as the cats here that actually matter made the plans to suit their own hidden agenda." With a simple flick of the tail, Rushtooth rolled her eyes, laughing a little bit. "Besides, I won't be participating anyways." Sparrowfeather looked shocked, as if she was hardly expecting to hear that coming from Rushtooth. "What, did you seriously expect me to fight for the Dark Forest? _Please_. Since when have we gotten any respect here, despite being here longer than most of these narrow-minded mouse-brains?"

"I'm fighting because I still want revenge, Rushtooth. You should too. Have you already forgotten what RiverClan did to you?"

The light brown tabby snorted. "Of course not. But I have no intention fighting the Clans of now, there wouldn't be any real satisfaction from killing cats from there who are still alive. The cats who wronged me are already in StarClan, and judging by their recent cowardice, they don't plan on helping the Clan cats. So what's the point?"

Sparrowfeather gritted her teeth, digging her claws into the ground. "Don't you see that it would be a wake up call to StarClan that we're still here and that they forced this upon us? Attacking their playthings would be the only way to get their attention, if they can spare a few moments of having their attention diverted from their rivalry and their new borders."

"That's just StarClan being stupid on their own, I'm not surprised by that. And besides, Sparrowfeather- do you _truly_ have loyalty to the Dark Forest? Think about it. When have you been respected? When have you been regarded with honor here? When have you ever met a visitor who fears at the mention of your name?" Rushtooth snapped, standing up on her paws. For once, Sparrowfeather didn't answer. "Exactly. We've been here for who knows how long, yet we get no respect anymore. I blame Tigerstar, and his son. Maybe Mapleshade too, while we're at it."

Snowtuft felt his paws grow numb. Rushtooth had a valid point, after all- he wasn't respected or known as much by the others. Granted, he was a bit of a coward and avoided most training sessions, but he was hardly acknowledged in the Dark Forest. To be frank, he was rather sick of it. Snowtuft couldn't help but hate Tigerstar for it, as he was the one who started planning the rebellion. Mapleshade was infuriating enough, in Snowtuft's mind. Hawkfrost was just horrible, and Snowtuft had extra reasoning to hate him even more, after Hawkfrost and Shredtail had gutted him, causing him to have the snaking belly scar for the rest of his afterlife. Snowtuft had been stuck in the Place of No Stars longer than most of the leaders of it. He was there before Hawkfrost. He was there before Tigerstar. He was there before Thistleclaw. He was there before Mapleshade. Snowtuft missed the peace and quiet of being all alone in the Dark Forest, even if it was when he was at his worst. At least then he wasn't used as the cat who was beaten up just for the sake of it.

Sparrowfeather sighed in defeat. "I guess you're right."

Rushtooth growled softly as she sniffed the air. "Someone is nearby." After she waited for a few moments, she seemed to call out of nowhere, "Snowtuft, get your sorry tail out here. It's not like I can't scent you." Snowtuft held back a snarl at her, but decided to go over to her anyways. Narrowing his eyes at her, Snowtuft wasn't exactly happy to be so physically close to her, but there wasn't much he could do now. "I thought you would be with the others."

Growling to himself, Snowtuft snapped, "That's none of your concern." If Rushtooth had heard his reply, she wasn't listening to him.

"Well, I don't blame you. Those fools don't know anything about getting proper revenge. If anything, they should be waging war with the actual StarClan, not the living Clans," Rushtooth hissed, whipping her head around to face a fallen tree, the insides of it rotted. Curling her lips, Rushtooth added, "And the only reason Tigerstar is so intent on fighting the Clans is because of his borderline obsession with killing Firestar. As if the precious 'fire' would actually be extinguished by him of all cats!"

Sparrowfeather narrowed her eyes at Snowtuft. "I thought you were loyal to them."

Snowtuft shrugged his shoulders, glaring at her. "Indeed, I'm loyal to the fox-hearts who gutted me, along with the father of one of them, and the cats who enjoy hearing constant shrieks of agony, _specifically_ coming from me. Makes sense, and hedgehogs fly." Looking back at Rushtooth, Snowtuft nodded at her. "You aren't wrong. I've been listening in on your conversation -you weren't exactly quiet- and honestly, I'm not fighting either. Not the Clan cats, at least, if Antpelt is anything to go by."

Rushtooth only looked down at the ground, shrugging her shoulders. Sparrowfeather had a glint of pity in her eyes, remembering the death of the poor WindClan tom- he was a former Dark Forest trainee, all until he had died of his wounds from training, only to wake up in the Dark Forest. To Snowtuft's dismay, Antpelt was glad to be in the Dark Forest, and was eventually murdered by Ivypool, apparently one of the most loyal trainees according to Hawkfrost and Tigerstar (which Snowtuft doubted, mainly because of his bias against them). Snowtuft was genuinely scared when Antpelt had died for the second time- he didn't think it was possible, but it was. Where was Antpelt, then? The simple thought of dying again sent shivers up his spine. The thought of dying was bad enough when he was alive. Snowtuft wanted the worry of dying to be gone when he was _already_dead, but nope.

"So what are you going to do? You know that Brokenstar or someone _will_ come to find you," Sparrowfeather spat, her fur spiking up.

Snowtuft glanced back at Sparrowfeather, narrowing his eyes. "I have an idea of my own, if you'd care to listen."

* * *

_As Snowtuft limped over to the border between StarClan and the Place of No Stars, he held back a small whimper as the pain flooded back immediately. His newest wound was still bleeding, and he looked as if he was dying again. Not that it mattered much. Or so he hoped. Resting his head on the ground, he laid down somewhat close to the border, hoping for a break from the other Dark Forest cats. After getting his stomach practically torn open, Snowtuft wasn't particularly in the mood to stick around. Lazily breathing in and out, Snowtuft let out a groan out of pure agony._

_"I hate Hawkfrost," He muttered, unsheathing his claws at the simple thought of him. "And Shredtail."_

_Feeling another pain in his chest, Snowtuft growled softly. Just a simple break. Nothing wrong with that, right? After that, he could just try his best to avoid everyone else except for the few who didn't have the intense urge to try and kill everything they see that they don't like. Snowtuft wanted to leave the Dark Forest. Did he want to go to StarClan? Absolutely not, from what they had shown, they weren't very good at their job. Snowtuft just wanted to go home. A pang in his chest made him wince, though it wasn't physical- the emotional memories of what his life was like made him reconsider his place in the Dark Forest._

_Breathing slowly, he thought of when he was alive. When he was a proud and loyal warrior of his Clan. What was it again? He couldn't remember on the spot- it had been so long. Thinking over it for a while, the name came to him. SkyClan. He was from SkyClan. What was his life like? Snowtuft felt another spasm of pain wash over him as he tried to think. He had to remember. Snowtuft refused to think about the pain. He refused to think of the cats who caused it, until the pain went away so he could fume about it later. He refused to think of the Dark Forest trainees, specifically the ones who came from ThunderClan. Too many bad memories of ThunderClan cats. There weren't many that he liked. He remembered one who was alive during his time -Kestrelwing, wasn't it?- that seemed like a genuinely nice cat. The white tom had memories that he was fond of during his time in ThunderClan, thanks to that tom in specific. A few of the trainees from ThunderClan might've been nice cats, or Snowtuft hoped. He knew that Mousewhisker was an okay cat, but only because he was the one who was mainly tasked with training him. Snowtuft felt connected to him, but why? Mousewhisker seemed to remind him of someone…someone close to him._

_Webkit. Snowtuft remembered now. Mousewhisker looked Webkit, to a degree. Mousewhisker looked like Webkit for the most part, just with white patches and a slightly darker pelt. Thinking on it more, Snowtuft also remembered that Webkit had three siblings- Hatchkit, Mistlekit, and Emberkit, weren't those their names? He let out another hiss as the screeching pain clawed at him some more. Why did he remember those specific names? Were they related? Snowtuft sighed. Probably, but his memory was still hazy._

_SkyClan. He was in SkyClan at some point, and in ThunderClan later, he knew that. With a grumble, Snowtuft blinked slowly. Obviously Hatchkit, Mistlekit, Webkit, and Emberkit had something to do with that. Who was their mother, then? If they were cats and kittens, obviously they had a mother. As he thought about it some more, he weakly raised his head to see a ginger tabby she-cat and a brown tabby tom (who looked suspiciously like Tigerstar) rushing towards him. For some reason, the both of them looked familiar. That was when it hit him. Hazelwing and Gorseclaw, both cats that he knew in life. Hazelwing, his mate and best friend back in SkyClan. Gorseclaw, the son of Cloudstar and Birdflight, who was raised in ThunderClan, but a SkyClan warrior._

_Hazelwing stopped in front of the border, gazing at Snowtuft with concern. "Snowtuft?" She asked disbelievingly._

_"Hazelwing?" Snowtuft replied, grimacing as another wave of pain crashed onto him. "How are you here?"_

_Tilting her head, Hazelwing responded, "The both of us walked from SkyClan's StarClan to this one. We wanted to check on what was happening and also, why are you lying on the ground? And why didn't you come to our skies? I was certain that they'd allow you with us, from what Gorseclaw told me."_

_Snowtuft struggled to get to his paws. "I didn't get the choice of where I wanted to end up." By standing up, he knew that he could've been making the pain worse, but he didn't particularly care as of that moment. Snowtuft was simply just happy to see cats he actually knew. Hazelwing's eyes widened at the sight of the scar._

_Gorseclaw scanned it from up and down. "W-Where did you get that? In there? Isn't that…a bad place to be in?"_

_"It's not like a I had a choice to end up in there. I hate it," Snowtuft growled, glancing back at the Dark Forest. Looking back at Hazelwing and Gorseclaw, Snowtuft sighed. "It's called the Place of No Stars, or the Dark Forest. It's where cats go when StarClan doesn't want them."_

_"Why would you be here, though? Snowtuft, you're a nice cat!" Hazelwing protested, lashing her tail._

_Snowtuft looked away from her, avoiding her gaze. "I've done…questionable things. But that's beside the point. I'm taking a break from the others in there before one of them notices. Apparently they're doing a training session with some of the trainees, and I don't want to be a part of it again." Gorseclaw tilted his head, confused; Hazelwing just sighed, shaking her head as if she was trying to imagine Snowtuft doing evil things to end up in the Dark Forest._

_He didn't want to tell them- he attempted to kill a cat during his time in ThunderClan after getting separated from SkyClan, after all. And it was none other than Redstar, who wasn't very grateful that Snowtuft had taken away one of his lives in revenge for SkyClan leaving the forest. After being killed by Redstar, Snowtuft just woke up in the Dark Forest, and hated every second of it. He wanted to see his friends and family again. But thanks to Redstar, he wouldn't be able to see them ever again. And it wasn't like how some of the other Dark Forest cats had it, either- most of the SkyClan cats resided in their own StarClan, separate from where he was._

_Gorseclaw spoke up, breaking Snowtuft's train of thought. "Why would they be training? Aren't they…you know, dead?" Snowtuft didn't particularly like the question, but at this point, he couldn't care if it was classified information. Snowtuft was still angry about Hawkfrost and Shredtail's attack on him. He was tired of the lack of respect he got. He was telling them whether they liked it or not._

_"Getting ready to attack the living Clans, mainly the ones around the lake. They're recruiting cats in the Clans to help them fight against them, and I don't particularly have a choice in fighting whether I want to or not. I'm just avoiding the training, they went for my stomach last time I joined."_

_Hazelwing whipped her head up, glaring at Snowtuft. "You realize that you don't have to fight, right? You have a choice whether it's obvious or not. But if you want my advice, don't fight. Do you really want to risk your safety even more than you already have? I mean, look at that scar!" Gorseclaw nodded in agreement. "Please, just think about what options you have besides fighting. For me and our kits."_

_As the two of them began to walk away, Snowtuft called out to Hazelwing, meowing, "Did they ever get their warrior names?"_

_Stopping to briefly glance at Snowtuft, Hazelwing had a sad smile on her face. "Yes."_

_"Could- could you tell me what their full names were?" He asked, hoping to get the information on his kits that he would probably never get otherwise._

_"Emberspot after Spottedpelt, Hatchflight after Birdflight, Mistlefang, after her mentor Mousefang, and Webtuft, after…you," Hazelwing responded, a brief flash of remorse shining in her eyes. "He asked to be named after you, you know." She padded away, with Gorseclaw at her side._

_Snowtuft sighed. Hazelwing wasn't wrong, was she? There could be a way to avoid fighting the cats he didn't want to fight, right? He just had to think about it. While avoiding the training sessions, of course._

* * *

Snowtuft suddenly found himself in WindClan territory, all around him screeching cats. He didn't want to fight. He didn't see the point. As Breezepelt was about to attack a WindClan tom, Snowtuft narrowed his eyes. Obviously Breezepelt wanted to kill his own Clanmates. _I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to kill his own kin._ Noticing Sunstrike, Larkwing, and many others switch sides, Snowtuft was honestly surprised, but pleasantly. _So maybe these cats do have hearts for their Clan._ His gaze averting to Hawkfrost, he noticed him along with Thistleclaw cornering Ivypool, who looked as if she was about to die. Snowtuft thought for a moment. Should he save her? He could try, but one of them might kill him as well as Ivypool, making his efforts for nothing. Could he even save her? He wasn't sure. But he had to try.

Stalking up from behind Hawkfrost, he felt a growl rise up in his throat. He was still bitter about what Hawkfrost had done. Shredtail was elsewhere, luckily for him, so Snowtuft wasn't too worried about getting his scar reopened again. As Hawkfrost took another step towards Ivypool, Snowtuft let out a hiss of fury and leapt for him, his claws unsheathed. He'd surprised them, that was for sure; Hawkfrost and Thistleclaw seemed more surprised than anything as Snowtuft's claws raked against Hawkfrost's cheek. Ivypool was surprised by Snowtuft's sudden change of alliances, which was understandable, but Snowtuft wasn't particularly in the mood to let her die. Hawkfrost stumbled to the ground as Snowtuft landed on his paws, snarling at Hawkfrost viciously.

Hawkfrost hissed at Snowtuft after getting back on his paws. "Traitor! After all this time you've been planning to deceive us, just like these other fools? You'll end up like Antpelt, I suppose." Thistleclaw was about to attack Snowtuft, but Hawkfrost shook his head. "Kill Ivypool. I'll handle this scum."

As Thistleclaw got to fighting Ivypool, Snowtuft was greeted with a blow to the shoulder, courtesy of Hawkfrost. Snowtuft yelped, but decided not to dwell on it. He aimed for Hawkfrost's muzzle, hoping to land a hit. Unfortunately, Snowtuft was out of reach as he tried to reach Hawkfrost's muzzle. Getting back onto his paws, Snowtuft narrowed his eyes at Hawkfrost, his claws digging into the ground.

"You're the scum to be attacking these cats. Most of them didn't even do anything to harm you," Snowtuft hissed, arching his back. Lunging for Hawkfrost once more, Snowtuft aimed another blow at Hawkfrost's muzzle. This time, his claws raked against the intended target, even though Hawkfrost had tried to dodge. Hawkfrost lashed back at him, a paw aimed for his eyes. Attempting to dodge, Snowtuft screeched in pain as he felt the dark brown tabby's claws slashing against his face, causing Snowtuft to fall backwards a bit.

As Snowtuft tried to retain his battle position, he felt a cat ram into his side, claws unsheathed without any warning, he hissed in pain once he saw that it was Breezepelt. Getting to his paws, Snowtuft let out another hiss as Breezepelt pinned him to the ground, slashing his underbelly with his claws. Yowling in pain, Snowtuft attempted to fight back, but Breezepelt's claws running against Snowtuft's old wound made it impossible. Hawkfrost padded over to Snowtuft, a sneer erupting on his face.

"Old times, right, Snowtuft?" He jeered, sliding his claws out. Snowtuft flinched. Was this it? Hawkfrost placed his paw on Snowtuft's throat, the smug grin still on his face. Snowtuft gulped, he knew what was coming next. He was going to die again, and fade into nothingness. Only, he would die, completely helpless. No one to save him. His mate and kits wouldn't even know that he was gone; they walked in SkyClan's skies. His heart ached for Hazelwing, and the kits he hardly got to know before being separated from them. He'd never see them again. And it was all his fault. "Any last words?"

Snowtuft spat at Hawkfrost, his voice seeping with venom. "I regret _nothing_." As claws lashed against his throat, the white tom screamed in the midst of battle, pain flooding his senses. Spotting Sparrowfeather watching them, Snowtuft was about to call out to her, just before everything faded, his vision turning black.

* * *

I just really like Snowtuft and my headcanons for him, but I also have a knack for making characters suffer so... The battle scene probably sucks because I haven't written a battle scene in so long honestly. And really, I was surprised that Snowtuft never went against the DF, even after he literally got tormented the most during training sessions. Also shoved my headcanon that Sparrowfeather is from WindClan and that Rushtooth is female in the fic because 1) I'd like more villains from other Clans besides ShadowClan plus Sparrowfeather is described as 'small' so that's what I assumed (or she's RiverClan) and 2) We need more female villains tbh

Once again forgive me for any out of character-ness, I haven't read the books and it never feels like I write canon characters right as of late :') Watch as I write a sequel to this despite my fear of writing these characters right


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